At noon the next day, Xiao Xuan rewarded the meritorious soldiers who repelled the Song army on the north bank of the Hutuo River, and ate the wine banquet until dusk. Suddenly, someone came to report that the grain and grass had arrived, and asked where to put it?

Xiao Sui smiled and said: "The grain and grass are here, okay, where is the tun?" How about putting it in a pot with a narrow bottom? ”

The soldiers immediately called it a good place, hidden, treacherous, easy to defend and difficult to attack, and there was a road leading to the bottom of the valley, which was very suitable for hoarding grain and grass.

When Xiao Sui heard what the soldiers said, he immediately got up and said, "Listen to you, it's really a good place, I want to go and see it." Come with me, okay? ”

The soldiers were eager to accompany the Queen Mother, so they went to the narrow bottom pot together.

The narrow bottom pot is indeed a dangerous place, like a gourd, surrounded by high ground, low-lying in the middle, flat, and there is a road leading to the bottom of the valley at the mouth of the gourd. It can only accommodate two cars side by side, and the terrain outside the gourd mouth is flat, but there are many apricot trees and willow trees, and the weeds are overgrown, so the narrow bottom pot is also called the apricot tree pot.

When Xiao Xuan arrived there, the team carrying heavy grain and grass had already driven into the narrow bottom pot, and the carriages coming and going were blocked at the mouth of the pot. It took a lot of effort for Xiao Xuan and his entourage to get the soldiers who were grabbing the road to dodge a way and enter the pot. The people in the pot were boiling, and the cattle and sheep were cheering.

At this time, the twilight was thick, the bottom of the pot was dark, and countless torches were lit around, but the shadows were still dark. The bottom of the pot is very lively, people are noisy and screaming, people are moving things everywhere, some people are building warehouses, some people are surrounding sheepfolds, and the stacks of grain and grass are stacked very high.

The soldiers who followed couldn't believe their eyes, they didn't expect that there was so much grain and grass for us, and that the Khitan country was so rich and powerful, and they couldn't help but shout long live.

Xiao Sui returned to the camp, and Han Derang also asked to see him. Xiao Xuan hurriedly let him in, and happily told him that thanks to such a good plan, he temporarily stabilized the army's heart.

Han Derang said worriedly: "Although the strategy is successful, it is only an expedient measure, and it cannot last long. ”

Xiao Sui said: "Yes, we must get grain and grass as soon as possible, otherwise, it will be self-defeating, we will not be able to get off the stage, and it will be easy to cause accidents." ”

Han Derang said: "The best way now is to march quickly, capture the cities of the Song Kingdom, seize their grain and grass, and relieve the urgent need." ”

Xiao Sui said: "It is true, but I see that the morale of our army is not strong, and it is full of exhaustion, and it seems that there is a war-weary heart, and it is eager to start a war, and I am afraid that it will not be able to reach it quickly." ”

Han Derang said: "This year's two wars, the soldiers are tired, the soldiers and the generals have different ideas, they all want to live in peace and happiness, no meritorious service, no reward is worth being with their families, although life is a little harder, no disaster or difficulty, is their greatest wish." ”

Xiao Xuan sighed: "That's right, but now we have to muster up their fighting spirit." ”

Han Derang thought for a moment and said, "There is something that may be able to help a little." ”

Xiao Xuan hurriedly asked what was it?

Han Derang said: "The minister put that thing in the white pagoda, please ask the emperor to go there in three days to get it, this matter is confidential, the queen mother must not leak it, and don't tell the emperor that the thing was placed there by the minister." ”

Xiao Xuan smiled: "Pretending to be a ghost is mysterious." ”

Han Derang smiled and said nothing, and then said goodbye to Xiao Xuan, saying that he had to prepare early.

Han De asked the front foot to go out, and the back foot Yue Guo Princess's nurse Tart Magu begged to see him.

Xiao Xuan frowned, and let her in. After the ceremony, Xiao Sui asked her why she didn't serve the princess in the Pony Mansion, what did she come here for?

Tart Magu said: "Queen Mother, save the horse master." ”

Xiao Sui was stunned for a moment, and hurriedly said, "What's wrong with the donkey?" ”

Tart Magu said: "The cane sores of the horse have attacked, the wound is purulent, yesterday, I started a high fever, and now I am sick in bed, confused, unconscious." ”

Xiao Xuan was taken aback and said, "It's been more than a hundred days, why haven't you been well?" ”

Tart Magu said: "I don't know, Queen Mother, according to the saying, the horse master has a strong body, and hitting a hundred military staff is nothing, why don't you see it?" Did the executioner do it hard? ”

Xiao Sui said: "No, who dares to make a heavy hand? Didn't you give him stick sore medicine? ”

Tart Magu said: "It's painted, or the princess herself painted, three times a day, the poor princess paints once and cries once, the old slave has never seen the princess so attentive." Tart Magu sobbed as he spoke.

Xiao Sui said: "What is she crying about? I was angry for her, why am I distressed now? At that time, I wanted his life, and I regretted it? ”

Tart Magu said: "The princess was not angry with that woman, she was confused for a while, and now she doesn't know how much she regrets it." ”

Xiao Xuan said angrily: "What? Do you want me to kill her? ”

Tart Ma Gu hurriedly said: "Don't, don't kill her, the princess said, then the master of the horse will hate her to death." ”

Xiao Sui said: "She thinks a lot, so worried that the colt hates her? ”

Tart Magu said: "The princess really loves the horse master, and she looks at it more seriously than herself." ”

Xiao Xuan sighed: "Sooner or later, she will suffer a big loss." ”

Tart Magu said: "But what about the horse master now? The princess was anxious. ”

Xiao Sui said: "This wolf-hearted thing, eating in the bowl and looking at the pot, didn't even pay attention to me, let him die." ”

Tart Magu said: "The old slave seems to be confused for a while, and besides, the master is young, how can young people not make mistakes?" ”

Xiao Sui said: "Then what do you say? I'm not Langzhong, I'll treat him. ”

Tart Magu said: "In the eyes of the old slave, the main harm of the horse master is heart disease, he is bent on death, he gives up the idea of life, and his qi accumulates in his heart, which cannot be resolved, which aggravates the injury. Since he was punished, the master has refused to speak, sighing and crying secretly. ”

Xiao Sui said: "I must be worried about that woman, it's really amorous!" ”

Tart Magu said: "The old slave thinks it's the same, why didn't the Queen Mother let her go?" ”

Xiao Sui said: "Let her go? ”

Tart Magu said: "The princess also begged the queen mother to let her go." ”

Xiao Sui said: "Has your princess become stupid? How did she become like this? ”

Tart Magu said: "Since the princess married the princess, she has indeed changed a lot, she is no longer rude and willful, gentle, and kinder. ”

Xiao Sui said: "People are good at being bullied by others, and horses are good at being ridden by people, and when you get married, you lose your identity as a princess." ”

Tart Magu said: "The master of the horse is also very good to the princess, but he just said that the woman saved his life, and he can't bear others." ”

Xiao Sui said: "The princess also believes in this kind of nonsense, and he Xiao Hengde made it up." Well, go back and tell him that the woman is still a slave in the palace, so that he will have little to think about. ”

Tart Magu said: "Master Ma said that he wants to go to the battlefield. ”

Xiao Sui said: "Go back and tell him to heal his injuries first, and I will wait for him to kill the enemy and make meritorious contributions, and give me a long face." ”

After Tart Magu said goodbye and left. Xiao Sui repeatedly thought in his heart that he was doing this, was it right? Was the punishment for him severe? Is Xiao Hengde really drunk and sexual? For the latter, Xiao Xuan had a negative attitude, Xiao Hengde was true at that time, and the wine was just a catalyst. And the punishment for him is not excessive. One is in front of the public, a dignified horse kisses the maidservant, is there still a princess and the emperor in his eyes, and she is the queen mother? He made the royal face lose clean, and it was still light to beat a hundred military staffs, and if it wasn't for the emperor's big day, it would not be too much to kill his head. As for Xian Shi being beaten with fifty rods and locked in a dungeon, it is indeed a bit wronged, but with a woman's intuition, Xiao Sui feels that she has an inexplicable relationship with the colt. The way she looked at the colt conveyed a different message, so much so that at that time, Xiao Hengde was fascinated and confused by his nature. From this point of view, she is not wronged at all. There is no way to know what secret she has with Xiao Hengde, and the slave insists that she was captured by Xiao Hengde. And Xiao Hengde said that she was his savior. She saved Xiao Hengde's life, which seems to be true. But how she saved Xiao Hengde's life, and why she saved Xiao Hengde's life, the two refused to elaborate. This can't help but make people suspicious, thinking that they have something to hide. As soon as she thought of this, Xiao Sui wanted to kill them, but whenever she wanted to make up her mind, there was always a compassion in her heart that made her very painful, and this pain seemed to be buried in her heart, and the burial was very shallow, only covered with a layer of floating soil, and a layer of flowers was spread on the floating soil, but as long as she gently flicked it, the pain rushed out, devoured her, denounced her, and despised her. At this time, she almost always lost the strength to resist, and let the pain be tormented, until she felt that her idea was ridiculous, and that to kill them was to cut herself, and then the pain gradually hid again.

Xiao Xuan came to the White Pagoda one step later than Yelu Longxu. She didn't see the emperor in the tower, and she was very unhappy, Han Derang said that there was a thing that the emperor liked in the tower, I don't know if the emperor took it, if it was taken by someone else, or that thing was gone, Han Derang didn't say anything in vain, Han Derang said that that thing can boost morale, and if the thing is gone, how to boost morale? What did the emperor do? Where did it go?

The emperor's guards said that the emperor went to the river to hunt foxes.

Xiao Xuan frowned and said, "When is it?" Still have the heart to catch foxes? ”

The guard said with a fluttering eyebrow: "When the emperor came up, he was about to go in, and a fox came out of the tower, snow-white and snow-white, very beautiful, and when he saw the emperor, he screamed and ran away, and the emperor chased after him." ”

Xiao Sui smiled slightly and sighed: "I still haven't grown up in the end!" ”

The ministers around him said: "The appearance of the white fox is a good omen, if the emperor can catch the white fox, it will be a good luck." Queen Mother, we will definitely be able to win this southern expedition. ”

Xiao Sui said: "How can you believe him in vain? ”

The ministers said that this was true, and said that when Emperor Taizu was crusading against the Bohai Kingdom, he caught a white fox, and in the end, he succeeded and conquered the Bohai Kingdom in one fell swoop.

Xiao Sui smiled and said nothing.

At this time, there was a shout of "long live" from the river, and soon, "caught, caught." Screams. Then the crowd spread, "It was caught by the emperor, and the emperor himself caught it." ”

Every minister rejoiced and celebrated.

Xiao Sui said: "If it is really as Zhongqing said, it is God bless the Khitan, then the white fox is a spiritual creature, go and tell everyone not to hurt the white fox." ”

The guards hurriedly ran to the river. Soon, Yelu Longxu rode a majestic red horse, his eyes sparkling, his face covered with a smug smile, and his head held high like a victorious general. He was surrounded and chased, his eyebrows fluttering, and he talked loudly to people, like an adventurer telling the story of his adventures. Seeing Xiao Xuan, he hurriedly urged the horse to run over and said loudly: "Queen Mother, I caught a white fox." ”

Xiao Sui said: "Isn't it just a white fox, look at your smug appearance." What about the white fox? ”

Yelu Longxu pointed to the cage behind him and said, "It's in the cage, Queen Mother, it's very capable of running, and I finally caught it." You see, how beautiful it looks. ”

Xiao Xuan looked at it and said, "Yes, it's beautiful." ”

Yelu Longxu said: "They all said that this was a great omen, and that my Khitan was going to have good luck." ”

Han Derang said: "Congratulations to the emperor, this is indeed a great good sign, everything in this world has a fixed number, it is impossible to meet, and only when there is fate can we get together." People are virtuous and foolish, things are clumsy, and the sages of people are attached to the Lord. Spiritual things, set the wisdom of heaven and earth, gather the aura of the four times, feel the heart, so you can know the rise and fall, the good and the bad, and seek the advantages and avoid the disadvantages. This white fox is the most supernatural, it is really difficult to encounter, today the emperor personally caught, it must be favored by God, the ancestors bless, to ensure the prosperity of my Khitan country, as soon as possible. ”

Yelu Longxu said happily: "This white fox is indeed very spiritual, and its actions are very agile, I led people to round up for a long time, and it escaped, fortunately, Han Zhixin was next to me, he understood the beast language, so he called it over." ”

Han Derang said: "Your Majesty is blessed with all the blessings, and the white fox is naturally in the emperor's pocket. ”

Xiao Sui said: "Since God has blessed us, the emperor, I will sacrifice heaven and earth on the next day." ”

Yelu Longxu said happily: "Yes, everything is subject to the will of the Queen Mother." ”

Xiao Xuan smiled: "I originally came to sweep the pagoda, today, the white fox appeared in the pagoda, it must be the Bodhisattva in the pagoda, I want to sweep the pagoda well, and when he is too peaceful in the world, I will come to repair and build a beautiful pagoda." ”

Yelu Longxu said yes again and again, so Xiao Sui and Yelu Longxu led the ministers into the tower to clean, carefully cleaned every corner, and did not return until very late. He also gave the temple 500 catties of oil, 2,000 incense candles, monks' robes, and a number of robes.

The next day, the news of the emperor's capture of the spirit fox spread quickly among the army. The army is talking about Linghu everywhere, and everyone is talking about the prosperity of the country and looking forward to the future. Everyone expected that this southern expedition would be able to win a complete victory, and many people were eager to immediately put on the battle and attack the city.